Beautiful chords using open strings - your suggestions?

[Meggy]

Some chords are just lovely things in their own right, and perhaps we jazzers can neglect the use of open strings a bit, or don't see all the possibilities - some of us anyhow, I'll admit to being one such. Just thought I'd start a thread anyhow, and will kick off with a couple I've found:

057070 is a nice E minor thing, and I rather like 75707(0) also for a B min type.

[ThatRhythmMan]

I’ve always liked 022032 or 020032 Em9 thing.

[docbop]

I prefer Ugly chords guess that why I'm a big Monk fan, but I read that Jim Hall liked playing in flat keys because now the open strings are tension colors and he can just let open strings ring to add color to chords. Sneaky guy that Jim Hall.

[craigoslo]

A7b13 X05660, Dmaj9 X54630 and Bbmaj7#11 6X7760

[rpjazzguitar]

My favorite Em type is 0x402x (you can use the open high E, but I prefer this way).

Bm type x20230

Bbmaj9#11 x10210. Move the A to Ab for the dominant.

[destinytot]

Only one open string:

[PMB]

I prefer Ugly chords guess that why I'm a big Monk fan, but I read that Jim Hall liked playing in flat keys because now the open strings are tension colors and he can just let open strings ring to add color to chords. Sneaky guy that Jim Hall.

Peter Bernstein (also a lover of all things Monk) has adopted that approach from Jim Hall. For instance, PB will play something like 6x6700 for Bb7b9b5, with the upper two strings providing the tensions.

I'm also fond of voicings where higher pitches are placed on lower strings (unlike my first example, these may contain a low level of tension, e.g. x,x,11,12,0,0 for a rootless A9).

[pauln]

I like some chords where you can hold and release some of the strings and the held and open results both fit as part of a bigger chord. The effect is of playing parts of a chord with a closer voicing.

For example, this series of four chords coming each in two versions (held and open) so really eight chords...

First pair:

1a] Held just like a bar chord

[x][4][6][6][4][4]

1b] Same thing but lift the bottom of your index finger barre off of the first and second strings, keeping the end of the index down on the fourth string

[x][4][6][6][0][0]

So all that is happening is that you are just letting the barre part of the base of the index finger alternate between holding down and lifting off of the first and second strings, keeping the end of the index finger down on the fourth string. If you do this back and forth you'll quickly find some strum, arpeggio, and finger picking patterns that sound nice.

Second pair:

2a] Now just move the previously unused second finger to the sixth string at the fifth fret, adjust the index finger for comfort, and continue holding and lifting the index barre off of the first and second strings

[5][x][6][6][4][4]


2b] Lift your index finger barre off of the first and second strings


[5][x][6][6][0][0]

Third pair:

3a] Now let the sixth string go open and continue the holding and lifting of the barre off of the first and second strings

[0][x][6][6][4][4]


3b] Lift your index finger barre off of the first and second strings


[0][x][6][6][0][0]

Fourth pair:

4a] New chord position, shape, and fingering... similar holding and lifting of the first and second strings

[2][x][2][3][4][4]


4b] Lift your fourth finger barre off of the first and second strings


[2][x][2][3][0][0]



There are lots of places all over the guitar that allow multiple ways to alter open string chords by trading held strings for open strings, back and forth, in ways that sound nice. Any time you find a chord using open strings you can experiment to hear if adding held strings works, and likewise you can test held chords to hear if letting any strings go open works... especially open strings that work across a couple of chords.

[craigoslo]

[Meggy]

I prefer Ugly chords guess that why I'm a big Monk fan, but I read that Jim Hall liked playing in flat keys because now the open strings are tension colors and he can just let open strings ring to add color to chords. Sneaky guy that Jim Hall.

Ugly chords can be beautiful too though!

[Meggy]

Thank you for all the replies, wonderful stuff - bit of an eye opener for me anyhow, and do keep it coming please!

[destinytot]

Only one open string:

[JakeAcci]

This is something I work with quite a lot and actually have a lesson series with soundslice on the subject. For now I can post the individual bits. This is more of a big picture overview across different genres rather than something jazz-specific per se, although you can use the principles to explore tons of voicings within type/mode.

Keep in mind the goal of the series was to expand creative possibilities, not necessarily to say, teach you a better intro Skylark, though I believe it will help with that!

Part 1: Open String Voicings #1 - Introduction and Harmonic Context - Jake Estner | Soundslice

Part 2: Open String Voicings #2 - Parameters of String Selection - Jake Estner | Soundslice

Part 3: Open String Voicings #3 - Close Intervals - Jake Estner | Soundslice

Great to explore this stuff with melodic minor modes, diminished scales, etc.

[Meggy]

Fantastic, thank you so much for sharing and going to the trouble to make that video destinytot - lovely stuff!

[Meggy]

This is something I work with quite a lot and actually have a lesson series with soundslice on the subject. For now I can post the individual bits. This is more of a big picture overview across different genres rather than something jazz-specific per se, although you can use the principles to explore tons of voicings within type/mode.

Keep in mind the goal of the series was to expand creative possibilities, not necessarily to say, teach you a better intro Skylark, though I believe it will help with that!

Part 1: Open String Voicings #1 - Introduction and Harmonic Context - Jake Estner | Soundslice

Part 2: Open String Voicings #2 - Parameters of String Selection - Jake Estner | Soundslice

Part 3: Open String Voicings #3 - Close Intervals - Jake Estner | Soundslice

Great to explore this stuff with melodic minor modes, diminished scales, etc.

Wow! Amazing stuff, and beautifully presented, and super helpful for me - as you say, getting away from just intuitively finding the odd random thing, and giving some useful thoroughness and method to the whole area. Thank you, thank you, thank you Jake!

[JakeAcci]

Wow! Amazing stuff, and beautifully presented, and super helpful for me - as you say, getting away from just intuitively finding the odd random thing, and giving some useful thoroughness and method to the whole area. Thank you, thank you, thank you Jake!

You're welcome and thanks for checking it out! I think you summed it up well - "finding the odd random thing" - by chance, when there can be an order and method to exploring these limitless possibilities.

I have to give a lot of credit to another member here, Barry (Bako) who always seems to encourage this perspective, looking at permutations and combinations and listing possibilities. I think it's a great way to get very expansive very fast.

So if anybody likes that series, if you combine it with the concepts in this lesson - sequenced structures, say with open strings as pedal points, you'll have quite a lot of voicing material to work with


That's a multi-part post, so the small arrows will take you through the different sections of the lesson.

Lastly, here are a few etudes I wrote that make heavy use of pedaling open strings in less obvious ways:

Wristbreaker - Jake Estner | Soundslice

7 String Open String Thing - Jake Estner | Soundslice (some 7 string voicings there)

[SamBooka]

Remember .. Joe Pass doesnt want you to put your audience to sleep!

[mr. beaumont]

Yeah, I will totally admit, especially when playing alone, I'll just include open strings on anything I feel like and see what happens!

Cool to see folks actually thinking it out. Great stuff in this thread.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Many of my songs feature chord fragments which use the open B and high-E strings as drones. I'll take a couple of notes from an E- or A-shaped chord, move them around, and find where they're sweet vs where they're tangy, and use them as needed for those qualities. My favorites chords are the ones that move the songwriting process forward.

[bako]

There are scales that include all of the open strings and/or most of them.
These are the most obvious reservoirs of open string chords/voicings.
Still, every open string note has some relationship to every other note/chord/key.
There is much to be found that might be of interest even with seemingly distant keys and chords.

Here's a chart I just threw together.
I tried to do this in Excel but it kept on auto correcting me incorrectly.
Any advice on how to turn that off, much appreciated.

[JakeAcci]

There are scales that include all of the open strings and/or most of them.
These are the most obvious reservoirs of open string chords/voicings.
Still, every open string note has some relationship to every other note/chord/key.
There is much to be found that might be of interest even with seemingly distant keys and chords.

Here's a chart I just threw together.
I tried to do this in Excel but it kept on auto correcting me incorrectly.
Any advice on how to turn that off, much appreciated.

hey Bako - good idea. I am not familiar with excel but I use google sheets a ton, so I copied your concept in:

Anybody with the link can view this - feel free to copy it and edit it to suit your needs

Open String Function Chart (copying Bako/Barry) - Google Sheets

[bako]

Thanks Jake, much better than my high speed handwritten version.

[lammie200]

I just want to stay on this thread and view it all later tonight when I am practicing. I need me some more open chords to use. Thanks for the effort, people.

[pcsanwald]

The Sid Jacobs book, "Bill Evans For Guitar", has a ton of beautiful open string voicings.

Another great resource for open string utilization is the Bach Cello Suites arranged by Stanley Yates. Stanley really uses open strings in cool and beautiful ways.

I agree open strings seem under-utilized in jazz guitar in general. I'm also an upright bassist and using open strings is part of the fundamental language of jazz bass. Tons of great players used open strings in ways that some would say aren't harmonically "correct", but serve the music and the bassist well.

[Gilpy]

x 0 4 0 3 x, x 0 4 6 5 x ....one of my favorite things about guitar is the ability to play an open string in a chord to get that ringing quality, and also to get huge intervals. For solo guitar arrangements I use lots of open strings!